


It's Been A Year

by ForgottenChesire



Series: Christmas '19 [5]
Category: Dark Was the Night (2014)
Genre: Cute, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:41:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22381273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForgottenChesire/pseuds/ForgottenChesire
Relationships: Paul Shields/Donny Saunders
Series: Christmas '19 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1603357
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	It's Been A Year

Earl watches Paul. Shares a look with Jim who is shaking his head. It’s been a year since  _ that  _ night. When it was dark in more than one sense of the word. With gunshots and screams and blood. One of the worst damn nights in all of Earl’s life and he’s lived through a few bad things. Susan is next to him, sipping on a cold one. Her lips are quirked in a half-smile, brown eyes taking in what every survivor is watching.

The sheriff fluttering around his deputy.

“It’s sweet,” Susan says. Earl grunts and Jim voices what he’s thinking.

“It’s only sweet because you’re winning the pot.”

She raises her beer in a salute, smiling widely as she winks.

“I know my ex-husband.”

Donny chooses that moment to stumble a bit. The entire crowd jolting, willing to help even though they know it won’t be needed. While Earl and Jim had done their part in protecting the survivors, it had been Donny and Paul who had done the most. They only lost two that night. When the monsters fell through the roof of the church like hailstones. Should have lost more, don’t matter how armed the humans were. 

“Cheating,” Earl says with a sniff. The beer they are drinking isn’t as good as the stuff on tap in his bar but it will do.

“Should have thought about that before you let her in on the pool,” Claire says. Her pretty blond hair still cut short and the scars that run down her face less pink. She leans her blindside against Susan and takes a deep drink from her bottle.

“Father Asher says that he thinks they’ll kiss tonight and is going through passages to read to Paul should he feel the need to confess,” she whispers, “he put down twenty on it.”

Susan tsk’s softly, eyes tracking the way that Paul touches Donny gently. Hands-on elbows and heads leaning in.

“Gotta say I agree with the preacher. They are definitely going to kiss.”

* * *

Paul looks over at the crowd next to the snack table. Donny still leaning into his hands, making them warm. It's hard not to pull Donny closer.

“What do you think they’re talking about, Boss?” Donny asks, pulling away. He hops slightly, fighting with his newest prosthetic as he does so. Paul reaches out without thought to help him keep steady. And that’s when he sees Susan smile big. It’s the same smile she got when they played cards or she caught him saying words he shouldn’t around Adam and Tim.

“I think they’re talking about us.”

“Think they’ve figured us out?”

Paul shakes his head. Pauses to think it over and shakes his head again. They’ve been careful. Almost shy in exploring the recently developed relationship between them. If pressed Paul isn’t ashamed to say that he’s been selfishly hoarding their moments in the office. Claire and Susan giggle at something their heads coming together to gossip about whatever caused the explosion of snickering. Earl looks like someone just said his stock is subpar and Jim? Jim is looking like he would rather face another night of Windigas than whatever is being said. Shakes his head and wonders off leaving Earl to the women’s tender mercy.

Adam giggles from his seat. He’s in on the “secret” and is gleefully using it as an excuse to get out of Paul’s french toast. Which is a bit unfair, it may be a bit messy but his French Toast is perfection in a pan.

“Mommy and the others have bets. I made a bet too but they all laughed.”

Donny laughs at the obvious pout in Adam’s voice. Paul looks away from the crowd that now contains Ron and Father Asher along with the Newmans to watch Donny. His deputy is ruffling Adam’s hair and laughing. He may have lost a leg in their last stand in the church but he hasn’t lost his spirit. Donny is talking far too softly for Paul to catch what is being said but the smile his son’s face? That is a rare thing indeed.

Father Asher makes his way over to them. He walks with a limo. He hadn't lost any limbs, not like Donny, not like Georgie McVain who lost his arm, but his leg isn't ever going to be right again. He claps Paul on the shoulder.

“I'm looking forward to the speech tonight, Sheriff.”

Paul blinks, mouth opening.

“Speech? You said this was a party.”

Father Asher laughs.

“It is, and what celebration is complete without a speech or two?”

Donny laughs until Adam pat's his arm.

“You gotta give one too, silly.”

When the time comes, Father Asher leads them up to the podium. Jim is standing next to it and when he offers an arm to Donny, Paul puts him out of his mind. He’s never been big on speeches. But staring out into the faces looking up at him he thinks that like that night he can do this.

“A year ago we gathered together in the church. It was cold and snowing and we were all afraid. Some creature, creatures we would learn, was hunting us.”

He pauses. Hands tightening on the podium.

“You trusted me,” he looks at the people, the family of the two they lost, “had more faith in me than I had in myself. We lost two souls that night. Jet and Maya. Good people. They always brought the best brownies to the pot lucks.”

There is some laughter, some noise of agreement.

“I hate that we lost them, but they will never be forgotten. We will remember them, remember how that night could have gone each year. When it snows, when I smell hot chocolate. At least thirty of those things attacked the church. At least thirty of them came crashing down on us.”

He looks over at Donny, then down at Adam.

“We survived. We survived and we will thrive, so long as we remember; none of us are alone.”

Donny’s speech is short. Shorter still when the crowd goes wild. Paul looks up. Sees the mistletoe that hangs from a string that is attached to a stick that Jim holds. He thinks he hears someone shout ‘cheater’. The crowd is watching them. Because he's the one closest to Donny. With a smile, he leans in, kisses Donny gently and lets his lover go on with his short speech.

He tries to ignore that money exchanges hands and the shouts of ‘cheater’.


End file.
